Ship-brake.



L. LAGOSTE.

SHIP BRAKE.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 23. 1908.

Patented Apr. 6,19091 3 EHEETS-SHEET 2 minesses.

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. L. 'LAGOSTE v SHIP BRAKE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 23, 1908. Patented Apr. 6, 1909.

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LOUIS LAdosTE,-Or MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO LACOSTE SHIP BRAKE COMPANY LIMITED, or MONTREAL, CANADA, A CORPORATION OF CANADA.

SHIP-BRAKE.

- ship brakes, as described in the present specilication and illustrated in the accompanying drawings that form part of the same.'

The invention consists essentially in the novel construction and arrangement of parts whereby the water cushion formed to receive the impact of the plunger connected with the wing is gradually diminished and particular means are employed for opening the wing and receiving and retaining it to its closed position.

The objects of the invention are to entirely eliminate a y strain on the ships side from the ellect of the opening of gates during the forward and rapid motion of the ship, to retard the ship's lm'ward progress suddenly and without shock and generally to simplify such devices and furnish a construction durahle and eflicient in operation.

ln the drawings Figure 1 is an exterior view showing a side elevation of a portion of a ships side and one of the wings forming part of the ships hrakes. Fig. 2 is an interior view showing an. el .vationol a portion of the ships side and the operating parts for opening and closing the wing. 3 is a cross sectional view on the line AB in Fig. 1. Fig. 4-. is a perspective detail of the means for operating the parts that open the wing. 5 is a sectional perspective detail enlarged oi a plunger well. Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of the plungr and plunger well casing as illustrated in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line CD in Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a perspective detail enlarged showing a modified form of plunger well. Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view of the plunger and plunger well casing as illustrated in Fig. 8.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

In the known construction of devices for braking the speed of ships, there are many which include the use of gates, fins or wings opening out from the bow, stern or sides of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 23, 1908.

Patented April 6, 1909.

Serial No. 428,817.

the ship and it is entirely with the means of opening and the means of sustaining the shock of opening without injury to the ship that the present invention has been made, and further this invention has to do with improvements on the device for braking the speed of the ship as patented under United States Letters Patent Number 681713, granted on the 3rd. of September, 1901.

Referring to the drawings, 1 are the plunger wells or boxes here shown as secured to the inner face of the outer side wall or skin of the ship 2, below the water line, the said outer wall forming one side of said wells and having the longitudinal slots 3 therethrough leading into the forward portions of said wells. a are grooves longitudinally arranged in. the inner faces of the said walls 2 in the interior of said plunger wells 1 and eX- tending from the slots 8 into proximity to the extreme rear ends of the said plunger wells and tapering toward their rear extremities. 5 are openings tl rough the side wall 2 in vertical arrangement and preferahly in alinement with the plurality of slots 3. 6 are plungers preferably of hollow formation having the central division walls 7 in said hollows adapted to back up against the water cushion and said plunger wells. 8 are lugs extending outwardly from said plungers through the slots 9 are struts pivotally joined at their rear end to the said lugs 8.

The plungers 6 travel in the plunger wells 1 iittng closely in said wells and backing up against the water ordinarily contained in said wells during the progress of the ship, said water during the action of said. plunger backing up and forming a compressed water cushion in the rear end oi said well but finding egress from said well slowly through the grooves i, the opening into said groove be coming narrower as the plunger slides rearwardly, thus permitting less water to flow from said. well in order that the cushion shall not be diminished too rapidly, as the plunger comes into proximity with the rear extremity of the well.

In Figs. 8 and 9 the means for permitting egress of water is of somewhat different arrangement and in said figures, the plunger 10 is of slightly smaller dimensions in outside measurement than the inside measurement of the plunger well 11, sufliciently so to permit the water to gradually ooze out therearound. In addition to said egress means an exhaust port 13 is arranged in proximity to the rear end of the said lunger well 10 having the pipe 12 therefrom eading through the ships side, thus practically the same effect is accomplished, as with the aforesaid longitudinal grooves, for while there is a continual escape of water very slowly around the plunger, the main portion of the water goes through the exhaust port 13 which though near the rear extremity of the said. plunger well 11 is still intermediate of the ength of said well.

14 is a wing folding to the side of the ship below the water line and intermediate of the length of said ship, one or more of said wings being arranged on each side of said ship,

preferably in pairs.

15 are hinges having the leaves 16 securely bolted to the outside face of the wing 14, centrally in. alinement with the slots 3, and their leaves 17 securely bolted to the wall 2 of the. ship, the knuckles 18 of said hinges being arranged to permit said wing to fold flatly to the shi s side. The leaves 16 have the longitudina ribs 19 between which, near to the forward ends, the struts 9 are pivotally secured, consequently the wings 14 are connected with the plungers 6 or 10, as the case may be, by the said struts. It will thus be seen that through the said connection of the said wing with the plungers, a means is provided for relieving the impact of the sudden opening of said wing from the side of the ship, as in the forward movement of the ship, when the wing suddenly opens and the weight of water presses thereagainst, the water in the plunger wells will gather in the end of said plunger wells, being forced. thereto by the said plunger-s, and in its compressed state furnish a water cushion, against which the said' wing is gradually opening, for the said water cushion is diminishing through the egress of water by way of the grooves 4 or the exhaust port 12, as the case may be.

20 are comparatively small casings securely bolted to the ships side around the openings 5 and having the journal orifices 21 and 22 through the top and bottom respectively and in vertical alinement. In secur ing said boxes to the side of the ship, the joints therearound are made water-tight in any suitable manner. 23 is a rod journaled in the orifices 21 and 22 and extending above the topmost of said boxes and below the lowermost, a suitable collar 24 being arranged at the top thereof to retain said rod in position. 25 are stuffing boxes through which the said rod 23 extends into and from said casings 20.

26 are arms fixedly mounted on the rod 23, each formed with the arc-shaped extremity or finger 27 and the short thumb piece 28, said thumb piece being the extremity of the enlarged rear end 29 of said arm and forming between itself and the arc-shaped finger, the recess 30, into wlnch the forward end edge of the door folds, the said arms 26 being mounted at the apexes of their inner angle lar sides 31.

32, 33 and 34 are cranks fixedly mounted on and extending laterally from the rod 23.

35 is an air cylinder rigidly supported from the ships side and having inlet and exhaust ports connected respectively to the valve chambers 36 and 37, said valve chambers preferably forming part with the casing of said cylinder 35 and being in the path of the fluid operating the piston in said cylinder.

38 is a piston rod connected to the piston operating in the main air cylinder 35 and to the crank 33, the valves in said valve chambers being pivotally connected to the cranks 32 and 34 by the rods 39 and 46 respectively, thus when the air or other fluid is turned on, emanating from a suitable source of supply, from the bridge or other part of the ship, the said air will .flow freely through said valve chamber 36 into the main cylinder and to the rear of the piston, the said piston then traveling outwardly in said cylinder and operating the crank 33 and coincidently the cranks 32 and 34, in order to turn the cranks 32 and 34 and close both the inlet and exhaust valves, wnile the pressure of air remains. The effect of operating the crank 33 is that the rod23 is turned and as the said rod is turned, the arms 26 are also rotated the finger portions 27 in rotation projecting outwardly throu h the openings 5 in the side wall of the ship, being arranged opposite to said openings, and as the wing 14 closes partly over said openings, the fingers 27 engage the inner face of the door. 'l'he thumb pieces as they are part of the same arms 26 move from engagement with the outside face of the door, so that there is no obstruction to the said fingers in pushing the front edge of said door outwardly. The weight of the water inthe rapid forward movement of the ship accomplishes the rest.

42 is an arm rigidly secured to the inner face of the wing 14 intermediate of the height of said wing and extending inwardly in a rearward direction from said wing behind the side wall of the ship through a suitable open ing in said side wall. 43 is a casing around said opening through which said arm extends and is securely bolted to the side of the ship, the joints being made water-tight in any suitable manner. The casing 43 has the reduced end 44 and the further reduced end 45 extending therefrom, said reduced ends preferably being separate pieces bolted together in longitudinal arrangement and supported fromsaid main portion, said main portion at its other end having the central orifice 46 therethrough.

47 is a cylinder rigidly secured to and supa3 and into said further educed end 45. 50

a or is the starting box formed to the outside the central orifice L6 in the casing and 1 through which said piston rod. 49 extends.

51 is a link pivotally jo ning the extreme end of the arm 42 v th the piston rod 49 in termediate of the length oi said oiston rod and inside of the casing 52 is a pipe by means of which the cylin der a? is connected to air supply the operating valve wh 1; may be in any part of the ship, preferably on the bridge within easy reach of the commander.

aving described the various parts in de tail, l shall new more particularly explain the operation of the invention. The operating levers controlling the an valve I other Quid, or means of operating, electric, are preferably located wit reach of the connnanding otlicer of the s 1 so that at a inoinents notice, he may, without giving any a l whatsoever, control the position of the wings and conseqilently the speed or di tion of the ship. 'l iolded flat against {l3 wings 1d are normally the side of the ship being oi comparatively h; .t steel plate and Oil-EH11? little or no reit J N i ,1 1

sistance at their ioiw edge, tnongn. tins w m b a 1 c3 bx I) a m zvl a l lira even e Laser on y tin. amnion 1am) b as shown in the strip 53. T e forward edge of the door is held iirinly in the recesses neccs or is d atebnngin l travel of the ship and tire wings seine: quite below he water line, there is no evidence to the eye any iarticnlar arrangement of 'es whatsoever and as has been explained, not snilicie tance jectin to in any ayi' rose of the ship. .ln the or cnt of it bei i necessary to avert collision for any other reason .rnddenly stop the progress of the ship, the commanding Oi'liCQI opens the valve permitting a llow of air through. the pipes leading to the inlet valve chainbers herein pointed out as valve chamber 36, and as the path is quite clear, for the passage of said air or finid, the piston is moved forwardly in the main air cylinder 35 tnrning the rod and projecting the fingers 27 ontvardly against the inner face of the wings M, the thumb pieces being part of the same arms 26 iroi t with the movement of the fing-i s, thns releasing the wings, with the consequence that the wings slightly open and the weight of the water resulting from the rapid forward movement of the in the proand to ship presses on the inner faces of the wings, but the iin iact is taken by the water cushions in the plunger wells, which gradually t'lllilllk ish, fully described. The progress of the so '1 has now been suddenly checked and the wines will continitae such checking, until the said s in ll'loats idly and with only the ordi- B water against the wing on enter faces, that is to say, an

' in this posieven prc .roni each side. "ion, the w 's in y be readily closed as ti will sin ply fold inwardly nioving thron 'h the water without any great power be necessary to so close them to the si e.

This closing is done i in ,ans of feeding air to the cylinder a? and the feed of such air may be controlled by the commanding ellicer if desirable. The outward movement of the piston 48 in the cylinder 47 forces the rod d9 along within the casing carrying the link therewith and. consecnentl inllin 1 l. 1 1. .7 O inwarclv an i rearwarr ly on the arm -12, "onil the said link and arm have been drawn to heir extreme rearward position as shown in lotted lines in Fig. 7. The wings are then i their closed iosition folding inwardly against the :ojccting iin crs 27 and rotating the rod 23 the forward edges of said wings automatically loclring themselves into This oarticnlar means of the recesses 30. opening, closing and retaining the wings in the closed position, is an extremely important feature in ship building and is particn larly useful for closing the gates and doors in the sides of ships and consequently may be used in various ways not necessarily being coirlined to the particular form of wing de scribed. l nrther, t operating mechanism of the opening and ClOSlIlfl lflGlllS may be changed to suit a ting conditions and the particular arrangcr ent of the various rods, as also the attaching of the wings to the sides for many variations have to be inane where the wings are attached to the sioes or a ship previously constructor l in a niann not to include such. braking devices and similar it be said tn at where the ship is in its design made to receive said wings, the details may not be precisely as described.

hat I ciaini as my invention is:

1. In a ship brake, the combination with the side wall of the ship having a suitable openin th rethrough and a wing hinged to raid side wall, of a casing secured to said and having an opening therefrom irough said side tell, an arm rigidly l to the in face of said wing and a, Llg inwardly through said opening, a cylinder suitably supported from the side oi the ship having a suitable inlet and. exhaust and connected to an expansile fluid supply, a piston operating in said cylinder, a piston rod extending from said piston into said casing and connected to said arm, and a link connection from said arm to said piston rod within said casing.

In a ship brake, the combination with the ships side wall, and a wing swinging outwardly and rearwardly from said side, of a plurality of casings having suitable openings therefrom and secured to the inner side of the ships wall, a rod suitably journaled and extending through said casings, an arm fixedly mounted on said rod in eacn of said casings haying arc-shaped fingers extending out through said openings and thumb pieces substantially parallel with the inner portions of said fingers and forming a recess into which the forward edge of said wing fits, and means for turning said rod.

3. In a ship brake, the combination with the ships side wall, of a wing swinging outwardly and rearwardly from said side wall, a casing secured to the inner side of the ships wall having a suitable opening therefrom, a rod extending through said casing and journaled in suitable bearings, an arm fixedly mounted in said casing and having an arc-shaped finger adapted to project outwardly through said opening and a thumb piece forming recess between said finger and itself to which said wing closes, a crank fixedly mounted on said rod and means for operating said crank.

4. In a ship brake, the combination with the side wall of the ship, of a wing hinged at its rearlnost edge to the side of the ship, a vertical rod journaled on suitable bearings extending inwardly from said wall, an arm fixedly secured on said rod projecting through said side wall and having an arc-shaped linger extending therefrom, and a thumb piece extending therefrom parallel to the inner end of the convex side of said finger and forming a recess therebetween into which the forward edge of said wing extends, means secured to said rod for rotating the same and causing said finger to contact with the inner face of said wing and said thumb piece to rotate away from contact with theouter face of said wing, a chamber suitably supported and incloslng said arm, and means for supporting said wing in its outward position against the inner face. I

" In a shlp brake, a pair of wings hinged pressure of water on the sternward ends of said wells to the strut openings at the forward ends for the gradual reduction of the water cushion behind said plunger-s on the sudden opening of said wings.

6. In a ship brake, a wing opening outwardly from the side wail of the ship and swinging in a sternward direction, a plungerwell secured to the side of the ship and a plunger traveling in said well connected with said wing, longitudinal passage therefrom for the gradual reduction of the water cushion behind the plunger on the suddenopening of the wing.

7. In a ship brake, a plurality of submerged casings firmly secured to the ships side and having o enings thereinto through which the water may flow freely, a plurality of plungers contained within said casings and sliding longitudinally therein, said parts being arranged with a longitudinal passage from the rear of the plungers leading to said water ingress opening forming a means of gradually reducing the water cushion behind said plunger at a predetermined rate of diminution, a plurality of Wings swinging outwardly and folding t0 the ships sides, and flexible means connecting said plungers to said wings.

Signed at the city and district of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada, this 21st day of April 1908.

LOUIS LACOSTE.

Witnesses:

GRACE Tnnsrnnnn, H. DAVIS.

said plunger well having a 

